Sleep Deprivation
by The Graceful Bookworm
Summary: Annie and Auggie take comfort in each other after a particularly tiring op, what ensues, one can only imagine.  Reviews are greatly appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

Joan Cambell stepped out of her office, and in a clipped tone said, "Annie, my office. Now."

Annie Walker, still groggy from a long night in a cargo plane, simply nodded. A headache was forming across her brow and her back was still sore from getting slammed into a wall. She let out a sigh and began schlepping her tired, worn out body to her boss's office. Auggie Anderson, the master/god of all tech ops and Annie's handler, couldn't even muster his usual smirk. Her usually brisk walking pace was slow and he could hear her take in a sharp breath as she pushed herself out her chair. As she walked away, Auggie couldn't help but feel his anger getting the best of him. Taking a deep breath he tried to focus on the line of code appearing under his fingertips. The Intel that Annie had recovered was encrypted and the decryption of the material was all he could concentrate on.

Up in Joan's office, Annie prepared herself for the famous Joan stare and the inevitable tongue lashing that would ensue. Everything had been going according to plan; Annie would make contact, do the trade off, and then get on a plane destined for D.C. Except the trade-off had been where the problem had started, she had waited thirty minutes and the contact never showed. At the one hour mark Auggie had instructed her to go across the street and set up a communication point. All of a sudden, the contact had appeared, and made a grab for the small bag Annie had been carrying. (The original trade had been for a flash drive containing Intel on a certain Russian satellite that had "drifted" out of orbit. In return the contact would receive money…of course.)

Using the bag as a weapon Annie managed to hit the man across the face. Not wishing to blow her cover, she then used the tried and true female defense move; she kneed him in the groin.

"Annie? Annie? God damn it Annie, answer me," Auggie said. He wasn't yelling, but his voice was full of the intensity that Annie could only recognize as his worried voice.

"I'm here. We've been compromised, I'm going back to the airport. Can you get me on an earlier flight?"

Suddenly, movement to her right was visible. The contact had managed to get up and made a jump for Annie's legs. Annie was quick, but today quick didn't cut it. The force slammed her against a wall and knocked the bag from her hand. On the other end of the earpiece, Auggie listened as a scuffle turned into an all-out brawl. When it was over Auggie realized that he wasn't breathing.

"Hey Aug," Annie said, she was as breathless as he felt. "Get me out of here."

Taking a deep breath he said, "Anything for you Annie, just get to the airport."

Joan's sharp, clipped tone is what brought Annie back to the here and now.

"I said, you'll be taking some time off," Joan repeated, looking slightly annoyed.

It took Annie a moment to respond. "But, but you need me here." After she said it, she realized just how ridiculous it must have sounded.

A small smile threatened to appear on Joan's lips. It was hard not to compare herself to Annie. Joan remembered refusing to take time off as well, but she also remembered the consequences of not letting the bruises heal or not getting a full night of sleep. "Annie, listen to yourself, you need the rest. Ten hours on a cargo plane, in my experience, isn't the most conducive environment for a good night of sleep."

Annie let herself absorb Joan's words. She opened her mouth to argue, but couldn't come up with anything. At this point all she could muster was a nod and began to walk towards the door. As she reached for the handle, the sight of Auggie, bent over his keyboard, headphones on, made her stop and stare for a moment. He looked so tired, there were dark circles under his eyes and the stubble along his jaw was at least two days old. Turning back to Joan, Annie asked, "What about Auggie? I should stay until he's done decrypting the file."

"No, I want you both out of here. Five days paid leave."

Annie thought, "What am I going to do for five days?"

Back in Tech Ops, Auggie was still working on the file with little progress. He felt the pressure behind his eyes beginning to build, a sure sign that in the next few hours he would have a full blown migraine. He heard the doors behind him slide open and Annie's perfume filled his nostrils. "Miss Walker, you should be on the way home."  
>"Not gonna argue with you there. But according to Joan, you should be leaving the building as well."<p>

Auggie blew out an annoyed sigh. Yes, his head was beginning to pound. Yes, he hadn't had a full hour of sleep in two days. But at the same time, the desire to find out what Annie had risked her life for was overpowering. "Fine, but I want to finish this first."

Suddenly he felt the chair spin around and he could feel stray strands of hair tickling his face. If he could see he would have been looking right into Annie's eyes; he might not have been able to see her eyes, but he could feel them. "Auggie, I'm not leaving here without you. So here's the plan: we'll get out of here, and we'll go somewhere. I don't really care where, but we'll go together. We're both sleep deprived and I'm guessing you haven't eaten real food since I left."

Auggie interrupted to say, "I had a power bar."

Annie smiled, "I mean real, real food Auggie: a pizza, salad, anything that was made in a kitchen."

Auggie's mouth watered at the thought of pizza, his stomach growled and Annie giggled at the sound. "Pizza it is then."

As they walked out of the building, Annie caught a glimpse of the sky outside, the sun was going down and the clouds where painted the color of grapefruit. Annie smiled to herself, remembering the first day she had arrived. Auggie had mentioned how subtle her grapefruit perfume was, it was something she had never forgotten. Auggie's hand around her elbow had become a regular part of her day. It was one of the few things she missed when she was on a mission. Tonight, more than anything, she wanted to be with him, even if it was for a few hours. What she really wanted was her best friend by her side.

They left Langley together and agreed to share a pizza back at Annie's house, it was closer and no one would be home until later. Danielle and Micheal were going out for dinner and a movie; the girls were spending the night with Micheal's mother. Auggie ordered while Annie took the quickest shower in human history. She let the water cascade through her hair and down her back. For a moment she wished that someone was there to rub the knots from her shoulders. Stepping out she found a bottle of Tylenol and took two. She dressed in sweats and a tank top and emerged from the guest house to see Auggie sitting on the couch. As she walked closer she saw that something was wrong. His eyes were glassy and his right hand was massaging his forehead.

"Hey Aug? You okay?" She couldn't help but sound concerned, he was obviously hurting.

Auggie tried to smile as well but his head was throbbing, "I'm getting a migraine, maybe I should leave."

"I have some Tylenol but that's about it, do you think food will help? Maybe you should eat first."

At that moment the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of the pizza. Annie paid the delivery boy and brought the pizza to the living room. She found plates, paper towels, and the bottle of Tylenol. Back on the couch Auggie listened as Annie padded around in the kitchen, he could tell that she was trying to be quiet. He couldn't smell her usual perfume, but the scent of coconut had drifted past him when she'd turned around to answer the door; her shampoo probably.

"Auggie, open your hand." Annie said. Auggie did as he was told, he felt the tiny capsules drop into his palm. He opened his other hand and Annie pressed a cold glass of water into it. He swallowed the pills and hoped they would head off some of the pain that still throbbed behind his eyes. "The pizza is at you twelve and the plates and napkins are at your three."

They ate in a comfortable silence, more out of hunger than anything. When they were done, Annie cleaned up and sat down next to Auggie. His eyes still looked shiny and Annie couldn't help feeling bad. They could have gone to Auggie's apartment or, or…

"Annie, why are you staring at me? Is it because I'm so 'mesmerizing' as you once so adequately described me," Auggie smirked, but Annie didn't buy it.

"I was just thinking that it wasn't a good idea to come here. As soon as you said you had a migraine I should have called the car service to take you home. But I didn't want to be alone tonight because I hate getting beat up and that guy was really rude. I mean, I had the money and all he had to do was give me the intel, but no, he just wanted the money and tried to beat me up for good measure. I just wanted to be with you for a little bit but now I just feel guilty and tired. I just want to sleep." Annie's speech quickly disintegrated into the ramblings of a sleep deprived college student.

Auggie said, "Annie, you're the only person I'd want to share my migraine with," He smiled, "I think we could both use some sleep; and now I'm going to ask if I can sleep on the couch because there's no way I'll make it in a car without vomiting. When I used to get headaches like this I couldn't move around too much or I'd get really nauseous."

Annie smiled, "Aug, you take the bed, I'll take the couch."

Annie led Auggie to the guest house then ran back to the kitchen for a cloth soaked in cold water. While he waited for Annie to come back he moved slowly around the room, taking in the feeling of the carpet and wooden floor. He felt his way around the room and stopped when he came to the bed. A wave of nausea hit his stomach and he sat down, not wishing to make a mess in what he assumed was a well decorated room. He heard the door open and Annie sat up next to him. His head weren't throbbing as much, but he still accepted the cold cloth and pressed it to his eyes. While he sat there, Annie found an extra pillow and some blankets.

"Annie."

"What Aug?"

"Thank you, for everything."

"Aw Auggie, that's so sweet, and thank you for coming over," Annie gushed. What she did next was a surprise to both of them. Annie leaned forward and kissed Auggie on the cheek. She leaned back and said, "Well goodnight." Then Annie happily flitted over to the window seat and turned it into a bed.

Auggie listened as she pulled the blanket over her head. He knew that he should have felt weird about sleeping in his best friend's bed, but he really didn't. As Auggie took off his shoes and shirt he thought, "Sleep deprivation does funny things to a person's mind."


	2. Chapter 2

Annie woke up around five am. She was aware that her feet were freezing, and that she wasn't in her bed because someone else was. She sat up and felt the blood rush through her legs, and down to her toes; she had been sleeping in a tight ball all night. "Oh right," she thought, "Auggie's in my bed." After a pause it sunk in that her best friend was in fact, sleeping in her bed. And he was shirtless. For a moment she imagined how warm the bed must be, and then decided it would be better to find out, and not freeze to death. As soon as she crawled under the covers Annie could feel the heat coming from Auggie. She tucked the sheets under her chin and promptly fell asleep.

Auggie woke up at six am when something hit him in the face. Still groggy he didn't sit up or even move the thing that covered his mouth. A groan from the other side of the bed found his ears, he listened for a moment and hear the source of the noise roll over and start snoring softly. Auggie contemplated that he wasn't in his bed and the person next to him smelled like coconut. "Oh right," he thought, "I'm sleeping in Annie's bed, and so is she apparently." Auggie couldn't recall if Annie had been in bed when he'd fallen asleep, but he did remember that Anne had kissed him on the cheek, but it was still a kiss. He tried to imagine what she looked like when she was sleeping. Annie probably slept with her arms tucked into her chest; Auggie moved his foot toward her leg and determined that she slept with one leg on top of the other.

"Your feet are cold," Annie whispered from the other side of the bed. She rolled over and found herself looked straight into his chocolate brown eyes. His hair was a mess; several pieces fell over his forehead and into his eyelashes.

"Sorry," Auggie said, and then he smiled the smile only Annie could coax out of him. Not the I'm-totally-gonna-sleep with- you smile, but his genuine happy smile.

"It's okay, because I'm gonna get you back," Auggie could hear the smile in her voice. Suddenly a very cold foot was wedged against his very warm leg.

"God Annie, did you sleep with your feet in an ice bucket?"

Annie was still smiling, "No, but the air conditioning was still on when we fell asleep and I only had one blanket, so now I'm freezing."

As she spoke, Auggie could feel her slowly moving towards him. She never actually touched him, but he could feel the heat from her arms and chest. He felt the sudden impulse to close the distance and hold her against his chest, yet that could become very awkward very fast. Her soft, whispering voice, cut through his thoughts.

"Are you still tired? We can get up if you want," Although she said it, Annie didn't really feel like getting out of bed. It was nice to wake up with someone else in her bed, she could feel the warmth coming from his body and the thought of facing the cold outside of the covers made her frown.

"No, how about we just lay here for a moment?"

His words brought the smile back to her face, "That sounds nice. Plus, we don't have to go anywhere so we could lay here for longer than a moment." She moved her pillow so she could be close to Auggie and still be comfortable. In about two minutes they were asleep again.

Danielle decided to check on Annie when she slept past eight am. Annie had never been one for sleeping in, so Daniel decided that either her sister was dead or still on her business trip. Sometimes she would get caught at the airport when a flight was delayed or, one time, cancelled all together. When they were kids Mom would tell Danielle to check Annie's pulse if she slept past eight, it had always been their joke. But now, as Danielle entered the guest house she knew why her sister wasn't out and about. She also knew that Annie wasn't dead. What Danielle found when she walked into the guest house was her sister, wrapped in August Anderson's arms.

"Oh my gosh," Danielle thought. Of course her first idea was that they had finally gotten together, but the lack of clothes strewn around the room killed that theory. A shirt on the floor caught Danielle's eye and all she could do was wonder what the heck was going on between the two of them. She left them sleeping to finish making breakfast, and to make sure that Catia and Chloe wouldn't go running into the guest house to find Annie in bed with Auggie, their tour guide from the Smithsonian.


	3. Chapter 3

Before Annie was fully awake she became aware that her hand was pressed against Auggie's bare chest, so was her arm and her cheek. Her head was tucked under his chin and her stomach was gently pressed against his. Annie could feel Auggie breath and the beat of his heart was audible in her ear; one of his arms was draped over her waist and the other was wrapped around her shoulders. When Annie finally opened her eyes she took in the sun shining around the room, and when she looked up into Auggie's face she saw that he was smiling slightly in his sleep.

"Ugh, I need to get up," she thought. Annie had never been one for sleeping in, unless she was really tired. Carefully, she removed Auggie's hand from her waist and then gently rolled over so she was lying on her pillow. Looking up to the ceiling she took in the sunbeams as they fell through the skylight and painted the room in a golden glow. Slowly, she rose from the bed and went to the window; in the kitchen Danielle was finishing up the dishes.

Annie walked over to Auggie's side of the bed and knelt down. She leaned in close and whispered, "Hey Aug, want to get up?"

Auggie barley registered the words but he was aware of Annie's soft breath tickling his ear. He rolled over so he was facing her and said, "Why would I want to do that?"

She smiled and said, "Because Danielle is eventually going to come in and ask me why I didn't have breakfast and then she'll find out that there's a man in my bed."

Auggie smiled mischievously and said, "You sound like a teenager who's been very, very bad." Out of nowhere, Annie lightly smacked him on the arm and tried to make an annoyed sound. She ultimately failed, and they both dissolved into laughter.

Annie finally took a breath and said, "Eventually we'll have to eat."

Auggie sat up and said, "And I need to go home and get a shower and some clean clothes. Now where did my shirt go?"

Annie found the shirt on the floor and his shoes. As he slid the shirt on, it occurred to Annie that she had in fact, just spent the night with her best friend, and part of that night was spent in his arms. It also occurred to her that they should feel weird and awkward and yet Annie felt utterly at peace. If she could've read Auggie's mind, then she would've known he felt the same way. After a moment Annie decided to drop the inner turmoil and find some coffee.

They walked into the kitchen together; Annie was dressed in a simple sundress and Auggie was wearing a rumpled mess of a shirt over wrinkled pants. Danielle took in the sight of them together and had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from smiling.

"Is there coffee?" Annie asked.

"I can make a fresh pot if you'd like," Danielle. "Also, there are pancakes in the warming drawer. Auggie, do you like blueberry or plain?"

Auggie smiled, "Blueberry's one of my favorites." He could tell from her voice that Danielle was trying to hide something. Auggie figured that Danielle had jumped to conclusions when she saw the rumpled clothes. "Oh well," he thought, "She and Annie will probably talk later." The sound of footsteps running down the stairs caught his attention and then the sound of high pitched giggles followed. Auggie surmised that the girls had seen him and their aunt together and assumed that they would soon be calling him Uncle Auggie. He felt Annie's arm tense up and for a second he wanted to laugh; he tried to imagine Annie blushing. It was hard, like reading a book that didn't have pictures. One time he had asked Stu to describe Annie to him. It hadn't gone very well but Auggie had gathered enough to form a mental image. Often it was easiest for him to "see" someone by feeling their face and sometimes, the rest of their body.

Another round of giggles cut through his train of thought. Auggie heard Danielle say, "Okay girls, get ready to go." Then her voice was aimed more at him and Annie, "Michael is taking the girls to the park today. He drove past it the other day and they just got done with the new play structure, the girls have been dying to try it out. So, Annie, I was thinking that we could hang out today. It seems like you've been going on more and more business trips."

By then Annie had slowly relaxed, but she seemed to tense up again. Annie did want to hang out with her sister, but she had a feeling that part of hanging out would entail a talk about her "relationship." She disregarded the thought and could only think about spending time with her sister.

She said, "Sounds great. How about ice cream and bad movies?"

Danielle smiled, "Perfect."

Annie pulled the pancakes out of the warming drawer and poured two cups of coffee. They ate, talked, and finally decided to meet up for drinks at the tavern later. Auggie called his car service while Annie cleared the dishes. They were sitting on the couch and waiting for the car to arrive; Danielle had gone upstairs to work on computer so they were alone.  
>"Are you still hurting?" He asked.<p>

"Yeah, it's not so bad now, although I still feel really stiff. But I guess that's what happens when you get thrown into a wall, and beat up a little bit."

"From my end it sounded like he was the getting beat up," Auggie attempted his trademark smirk but Annie remembered how he had sounded after the attack. "Trouble just seems to follow you Ms. Walker."

Playfully, Annie said, "No it doesn't and I for one am offended that you would even suggest such a thing." After a moment she added, "Maybe it does just a little bit."

Auggie was about to say something in return when a honk outside announced that the car had arrived. Annie guided him to the door and then they hugged goodbye. As the car drove off, Annie watched from the window, wishing that he never had to leave. She thought about how amazing it felt just hug him and for a second she imagined what it would be like to kiss him. Right there, Annie stopped herself; sharing a bed with her best friend had been a fluke, waking up in his arms, a one in a million chance…Right?


	4. Chapter 4

Annie and Danielle sat curled up on the couch, a pint of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food was being passed between them. On the T.V screen Emma Stone was being berated by her classmates for being a supposed whore. It was days like this that reminded Annie of how distant she could be; often coming home late and leaving early to catch flights or finish a debriefing. Just getting to spend time with her sister, even for a brief afternoon, was therapeutic. Then, Danielle asked the question that turned therapy into interrogation.

"So, you and Auggie huh?"

Annie chocked on a chocolate fish. She had expected this; it was Danielle's bluntness that surprised her. "What? No, we're just friends."

"Yeah, because friends sleep in each other's arms all the time." Danielle attempted to look innocent and managed to do a pretty good job of it.

Annie tried to change the subject, "Now I know where Catia and Chloe get that look, it's from you."

"Don't try to change the subject, now tell me, what's going on with you and Auggie?"

Annie sighed, "Nothing, honestly." She paused for a moment, questioning why she felt so defensive about the subject.

Danielle seemed to drop it for the moment. They continued to pass the ice cream back and forth; sitting in silence and laughing occasionally at the antics taking place on the screen. When the movie was over Annie got up to put in a new one, but Danielle stopped her.

"Can we just talk for a minute?"

"Sure, but if this is about Auggie and me, don't expect much."

Danielle smiled, "I just want to tell you something. I see how you two act around each other, like you've known each other for years. You smile a little bigger when he's with you and I can't count the amount of times you've gone out for drinks with him after work. Oh, and all the times you've come home, telling me about something funny that Auggie said or did."

Annie tried to stop her sister, "Is that all you came up with?"

"No, I know you must feel something for him. You did the same think when you were in eighth grade and you had a crush on that, Joey something. For weeks you said that you guys were just friends, and then you finally figured out that you had feelings for him."

Annie cut her sister off, "But that was eighth grade."

"Do we need to bring up the Anthony Brown incident?"

That made Annie laugh, "Oh God please don't."

"So look me in the eye and tell me you don't feel something for Auggie."

"Okay, I might feel something, but Auggie and I are best friends and I don't want to screw that up."

"But you two would be so cute together."

"Yeah, the girls have already told me that, like hundreds of times."

"Let me rephrase, you two would be great together. The last time you brought him to a dinner, he seemed different. Like when you would leave the room and then come back in, he always looks in your direction. But not out of curiosity, like he consciously knows that it's you."

Annie smiled to herself; very few people knew that Auggie could recognize her just by her footsteps and by her smell. It was something she had always kept to herself, and again the feeling that she was being defensive began nagging in the back of her mind. She remembered how it felt to wake up and have Auggie right there, holding her. She wanted to stop it but a wave of heat shot down through her chest and continued to her stomach, stopping just short of her pelvis.

"Annie, you're blushing."

"What? No I'm not." She turned away, trying to hide the roses that appeared on her cheeks.

"Annie, I just want you to be happy, plus if you and Auggie got together I would stop setting you up for Thursday night dinners."

"Well if that's all it takes, I'll just marry him right now." They both laughed; it was no secret that Annie hated that part of Thursday night dinners. "Okay, so now that we've dealt with that; I get to ask you a question. How are you and Michael doing?"

"Actually, we've been making more time for each other, and he's spending more time with the girls. Like today, it was his idea that they go to the park and they decided on the new playground. It was perfect because then I get you all to myself." Danielle then enveloped her sister in a monstrous bear hug. "I love you Annie, and I hope you always remember that."

Annie said, "I love you too Dani."

Dani smiled, "Now I have another question to ask you."

Annie said tentatively, "Okay, shoot,"

"Can you babysit the girls tonight? Michael got roped into this black tie event for work and I have to go as well."

"Of course, I've been meaning to have a Just Dance tournament with them, and now I have the chance."

"Oh and it's completely okay if Auggie comes over, since nothing is going on between you two," Danielle offered with a coy smile.


	5. Chapter 5

Annie paced the floor, the phone in her hand; she was debating on whether or not to ask Auggie to babysit the girls with her. It had hit her when she came back into her guesthouse and saw the bed. The bed was a mess, two people had obviously shared it and again, Annie remembered the feeling of Auggie's arms around her. She remembered the feeling of chest and stomach pressed against her and the wave of heat passed through her body again. It was then that Annie could finally admit to herself that she did in fact have feelings for her best friend. Now she was pacing the floor, nervous, and acting like a teenage girl.

"Come on get it together Annie," she told herself. Then she made the call.

At home, Auggie was sitting on his couch, reading a book when the phone rang. He had been lost in the book, his fingers tracing the Braille as he followed the story playing underneath them. The phone announced that Annie was calling and a little spark of joy ignited in his chest. Auggie had been experiencing that same spark whenever Annie walked in Tech Ops, whenever he smelled her grapefruit perfume, whenever he took her arm and felt the warmth radiating from it. He was falling for her, falling fast, and there was nothing he could do to stop it; not that he wanted to.

Auggie picked up the phone, "Hey Annie, you're not calling to cancel on me are you? You know how I hate to drink alone."

On the other end he could hear her trying to not to laugh. He couldn't remember it, but she claimed to have received several drunken phone calls from him complaining about drinking alone. "No Auggie, but I was wondering if we could have a change in plans. Danielle asked me to babysit the girls tonight and I was wondering if you would like to join me."

Auggie asked, "Didn't she and Michael go out last night?"

"Yes. But Michael got roped into attending an event with his firm tonight, and Danielle has to go or else it looks bad. So, what do you say, pizza and movies instead of going out for drinks?"

"Hmmh," Auggie pretended to think it over. "I don't know, what kind of pizza will there be?"

"What if I said that we can order whatever kind of pizza we want? I might even be able to find some beer."

Auggie smiled to himself, she really knew how to get to him. "Then I would say you know me too well Annie Walker. What time should I come over?"

On the other end of the line Annie smiled, "Any time after six should be fine."

As Auggie approached the door at 6:15 he heard music vibrating from the house, and little girl squeals, lots of squeals. He rang the doorbell and felt a rush of air as the door was flung open.

"Auggie, I'm so happy you came! Aunt Annie, Auggie's here," Chloe said, or rather, screamed.

Auggie smiled and suddenly small hands were grasping his arm, it was obvious that we was using all of her strength to drag him through the house. The music cut out and Annie's hand was on his arm. Her perfume filled his nose and made his heart soar.

She was laughing and trying to speak at the same time, "Hey, come into the kitchen."

Annie's laughter made Auggie start laughing, "Why are you laughing so hard?"

"Because Katia just kicked my butt at Just Dance and now she's doing her victory dance."

By then Chloe had left them in the kitchen to rejoin her sister; the sounds of Proud Mary could be heard through the walls. Annie led Auggie around the kitchen, trying to find the phone.

"As soon as they're done we'll order pizza, and as promised there is beer."

Suddenly the music cut out again and the sound of bickering replaced it. Annie and Auggie found the girls arguing over who had won. In attempt to distract them, Auggie mentioned that they still had to order pizza. There was silence for a good minute; then it was broken with more arguing.

Annie whispered, "Keep them busy, I'll order pizza."

Auggie said, "Yeah sure, throw the blind guy to the small children."

Annie hit him on the arm, "Just be your normal charming self, you'll be fine."

As she walked away he said, "You think I'm charming?" There was no response. "Okay," he thought, "Now what the hell am I going to do to entertain them?"

The answer came in the form of Chloe asking a question, "Auggie, can you dance even though you can't see?"

He heard Katia hiss, "You can't ask that, it's rude."

Auggie smiled, "Actually I can dance, very well I might add. Here let me show you something."

He took Chloe's hands and showed her how to do a basic box step. Then he showed Katia. When it became obvious that she wasn't picking it up he told her to stand on his feet. They took turns dancing with him and soon wanted to learn more. Auggie knew they would need more room so together they moved the couch and, when Annie came back into the room, the coffee table as well.

Soon the girls were dancing around the room with Auggie, Annie and each other. Only one time did an incident arise when Auggie tripped over and edge of the rug. He caught himself and turned the almost fall into fun by swinging Katia gently around. By the time the pizza arrived the girls were giggly and excited; all thoughts of previous argument were lost. Everyone helped in putting the room back together and pizza was served.

After they received their slices, the girls went to the dining room table and ate together; they were still talking about how much fun dancing was. Annie and Auggie hung around the kitchen eating pizza and sipping their beer. Danielle had a stash, a very limited stash, but a stash none the less.

Annie asked, "Where did you learn to dance?"

Auggie smiled his signature smile, "That Miss. Walker, is a closely guarded family secret. There is nothing you can say or do that will make me tell you." He heard her move around the room until she was standing in front of him. She rested her arms on his shoulders so her hands hung lazily behind his head. The smell of grapefruit was intoxicating, and Auggie could feel himself leaning into her just a little bit, breathing in the scent that he could never get enough of.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me?"

Auggie licked his lips, thinking, "God why did she have to say it like that?" His brain wasn't working properly and forming complete thoughts was becoming an issue.

Annie smiled, she knew that she was getting to him, "Come on Auggie," then she leaned in closer to whisper in his ear. "I'm a CIA operative, I'm really good at keeping secrets; and in case you forgot, I've been trained to get information out of male informants."

"Oh believe me, I know."

"So, will you tell me?"

Auggie smirked slightly, "Fine, I wouldn't want to make you use your training on me. My grandmother paid for lessons when I was a kid. She believed that every young man should be able to dance; all of my brothers went through it too. It was like a rite of passage."

She leaned back, trying not to laugh. "So were you a master ballroom dancer in high school or something?"

"Now you're just making fun of me. I wasn't a master, but I am a very good dancer."

"Oh yeah, prove it."

Auggie had been taking a swig of beer, trying to calm his racing heart. "Only if you can get me drunk enough."

Annie was about to respond, but the girls came running back into the kitchen, wondering if Annie could start a movie for them. She did and returned a minute later to finish her pizza.

"Do you want any more," she offered taking another sip from the bottle.

What Auggie wanted to say was "More pizza or more of you whispering naughty suggestions in my ear?" What he really said was, "No I'm good."

They cleaned up the boxes and finished the dregs from their bottles then joined the girls as they finished the movie. As soon as it was over the girls put on their and brushed their teeth. Half of a new movie later and they were both fast asleep. Katia went first, her head resting on a pillow and her feet in Auggie's lap. Chloe lasted a little longer but soon succumbed to the fatigue of a very long day that finally caught up with her. Annie carried Katia to bed first then planned on getting Chloe next. She was picking the small girl up and turned around to see Auggie scooping Chloe up, very gently, into his arms.

He whispered, "Just tell me where to go, I'm not so sure about the upstairs."

They made it without incident, and the girls were in bed sound asleep when their parents arrived an hour later. Annie and Auggie were sitting on the couch, talking and joking with each other. Annie sat with her legs underneath her and her arm draped on the back couch. Auggie mirrored her position and was listening intently about an incident involving an overzealous barista and a very hot cup of coffee.

There was mild chit chat about the night and how the girls had behaved. Danielle seemed to be slightly buzzed as she hugged her sister and bid Auggie goodnight. Michael was his usual self, polite and quiet. Soon they too would be fast asleep, as they drudged up the stairs Auggie and Annie decided what to do.

"I'll drive you home if you want me too," Annie said, hoping he would accept the offer. Alone time with Auggie was all she wanted now.

"As long as you promise to come inside for a minute, I have a new bottle of Patron and I need someone to tell me if it's any good."

"Well, as long as it's a new bottle I'll just have to make sure it's good," Annie tried to hide the fact that her heart was beating faster than normal. Watching the girls had been a distraction, but now she didn't want any distractions. She just wanted Auggie. If she could read his mind, she would have known that he was thinking the same thing.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note: Thank you for sticking it out with me this far. This chapter was really difficult to write for some reason and it's not my best work, but I gave it a shot and have a much better idea of what I want for the next one. Also, school starts for me next week, but I'll try to update whenever possible. Again thank you for the reviews and for anyone who reads and enjoys my first fan fic.<strong>

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.  
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